World Bank critics include the governments of the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and India, charities such as Oxfam, Christian Aid, and Save the Children, and environmental lobbyists such as Greenpeace.
The bank has been criticized for poor management of its over 1,800 projects worldwide.
The declining success rate of bank projects is partly due to its policy of rewarding more for loan volume than for the successful implementation of projects.
The US criticized the bank's lack of support for the private sector in developing countries.
In Africa, bank-supported structural adjustment programs have failed to halt economic and social decline and poverty.
Oxfam charged the bank with encouraging the production of commodities for an already saturated world market.
Charities and environmental lobbyists have attacked the banks' environmental and resettlement policies.
In particular, the failed Narmada dam project in India and Chiles' Bio Bio River hydroelectric dam.
Groups claimed the bank failed to conduct proper impact studies, and to protect displaced villagers.
The World Bank has responded to the criticism in a number of ways.
First it appointed a taskforce, which uncovered numerous deficiencies.
The bank drew up plans to improve the management of its portfolio projects and to redirect incentives toward rewarding successful project implementation more than project approval.
It has offered to mitigate environmental damage.
It agreed to provide better access to project information and to set up an independent inspection panel to review complaints.
The bank also agreed to try to limit commodity loans where markets were unfavorable.
